Wake Up to the Nightmare
by LiquidSky
Summary: One night Squall has what he thinks is the worst nightmare of his life, but when he wakes up he finds that it is more than just a dream.
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer:** FF8 and its characters belong to Squaresoft. 

Hi. For some funky reason my story got lost, so I had to post it again and lost my reviews *sniffle* But anywayz, please read this and review. And thanks to the people who reviewed last time. 

Wake Up to the Nightmare

(Chapter One)

It was a peaceful and uneventful night at Balam Garden. All SeeDs and students slept soundly in their comfortable dorms. All except one: Squall Leonhart walked down the hall to his girlfriend's dorm. He couldn't sleep, he didn't know why but he had the strange feeling that she was in danger.

He stopped when he reached her door, he felt a bit silly now; what was he going to say to her? He decided to knock anyway. He waited a few seconds, when he didn't get an answer he called her name.

"Rinoa?" Silence. He knocked again. "Rinoa?" He felt a slight fear when she failed to answer again. He turned the knob and found that the door was unlocked. He looked inside and smiled when he saw Rinoa peacefully sleeping in her bed.

Something moving in the corner of the room caught his attention: a tall male figure was approaching Rinoa's bed; he was clad in white from head to foot.

"Who the hell are you?!" Squall demanded, but the man paid no attention to him and continued to walk toward Rinoa. As he got closer Squall noticed that the stranger had no irises; yet his eyes seemed to be fixed on Rinoa. Squall ran at him and tried to push him against the wall, but was shocked when he ran straight through the stranger.

Despite all the movement in her room Rinoa slept. Squall tried to hit the man, but again his hand went straight through him. He seemed to be nothing more than an apparition, a pigment of Squall's imagination. Squall was suddenly struck by a terrifying thought: what if _he_ was the apparition?

Squall began to panic, there was nothing he could do to protect Rinoa. "Rinoa! Wake up!" He yelled at the top of his voice: still she did not move.

The man was now at Rinoa's bedside, Squall ran to her and desperately tried to shake her awake, but his hands went through her; he couldn't even touch her.

Rinoa sensing someone watching her opened her eyes, she quickly sat up when she saw the figure in white in front of her. "W-who are you? What do you want?" She asked in a small voice. The man said nothing.

"Rinoa, can you hear me?!" Squall yelled again, but Rinoa didn't even look his way. She climbed out of her bed and slowly backed toward the door, but the man jumped and was suddenly in front of her. 

He hit her in the face causing her to fall to the floor. She was quickly on her feet again. "Ultima!" To Squall's surprise the stranger was unaffected. 

All Squall could do was watch, he saw the man pull a crossbow out of his white robes and point it at Rinoa. "NO! Rinoa, get out!"

Before Rinoa could react the he shot an arrow at her. It sank into her chest; her hands went automatically to the arrow before she fell to the floor.

Horrified, Squall ran to her, he saw her brown eyes close slowly. He fell to his knees and tried to hold her up, but he couldn't even touch her. 

The stranger in white stood in front Squall. "You can't even save what you love the most." His voice was cold and cruel. 

Squall looked into his sightless eyes; what he saw frightened him. There was nothing there, no feelings; no regret or hatred: nothing.

Squall knew then that there was nothing he could do to stop him: there was nothing he could do to help Rinoa. He felt so helpless. Tears started to run down his face, the person he loved the most lay at his feet, lifeless. Blood was now covering the floor around them.

The man smiled a sickening smile and walked out the door carefully closing it behind him.

"I'm sorry Rinoa." Squall said as he closed his eyes.

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Squall suddenly snapped awake, he was relieved to see that he was in his dorm and that it was morning. He realized there were tears in his eyes, he quickly wiped them away and got up. He got dressed, stepped out of his room and went down the hall to Rinoa's room.

He knocked on her door, but there was no answer; he turned the knob and found the door unlocked. He looked inside but didn't see Rinoa anywhere. Panic suddenly gripped him.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **FF8 and its characters belong to Squaresoft.

I'm so bummed about having to repost my story, but anyway, here's chapter two.

Wake Up to the Nightmare

(Chapter 2)

Squall stepped inside Rinoa's room. Her bed was unmade, but that was not uncommon. He took a deep breath; her not being there did not mean that something had happened to her. It was almost eight o'clock, she was usually in the cafeteria at that hour so he decided to look for her there.

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Squall walked into the cafeteria, he saw Quistis and Xu sitting at one of the tables. A few tables down Zell and Irvine where eating breakfast and playing a game of cards while Selphie watched on. Squall decided to join the latter table; the last thing he wanted was to hear a discussion on the two point five percent increase in the Bite Bug population.  

"Hi!" Selphie greeted when he reached their table.

"Mornin'" Irvine said without looking away from the cards.

Zell said nothing, he was intensely looking at the cards pondering his next move. "Yes!" He said as he flipped over a card. "I win again baby!"

"No! My Sacred card, I just got it back!" Irvine could only watch as Zell took the card and added it to his stack.

"I told you that we shouldn't play random." Zell said.

"I'll get my card back." Irvine said before turning his attention back to his cereal bowl.

"Have you guys seen Rinoa today?" Squall asked.

"No." Selphie answered, Zell and Irvine shook their heads.

"I'll see you guys later," Squall said getting up, "I'm going to look for her.

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One hour later Squall was truly worried. It seemed that no one in Garden had seen Rinoa since the night before. He called her friends in Timber, but they had not heard from her either.

By midday Squall had even ventured to call General Caraway, something that he had tried to avoid. The General informed Squall that he had not heard from his daughter in days. It had taken Squall quite a while to convince Caraway not to send Galbadian soldiers to Balam to look for Rinoa. SeeD was more than capable of doing so.

At one o'clock Squall organized a search party. They searched the nearby town of Balam and one of the forests. At ten o'clock p.m. a different group went on search. 

Three hours later Quistis caught up with Squall who had been searching since the beginning. "Squall, you need to come back and rest." She said, her voice full of concern.

"I can't go back until I find her." Squall said firmly.

Just then Zell went running up to them. "Yo Squall, you need to come back and rest."

"I already said I'm not going!" Squall turned to face Zell.

"I'll take charge while you're gone if you want." Zell offered.

"Look," Quistis said, "you don't have to go sleep. Just go and get something to eat. You haven't had anything all day."

Squall hated to admit it, but they were right, if he wanted to find Rinoa he would have to be at his best. "...Whatever. I'm just going to get something to eat. I won't take long."

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It was nearing two a.m. when Squall reached Garden. Since the cafeteria was already closed he went straight to his dorm. He stepped inside and opened the small refrigerator by his closet door. He took out an apple and a can of pop.

After eating he laid on his bed. He stared at the ceiling, where could Rinoa be? He wondered, he got up and walked out of the room, he noticed a few students walking through the halls. It was strange to see anyone outside of their dorms at that hour, but Squall guessed it was due to the search.

Squall made his way to the Quad, there he saw Selphie and Irvine. They had their backs to the stage, which had been put up once more. Irvine had his right arm around Selphie's shoulder, her head rested on his chest. Squall hated to interrupt them, he always hated being interrupted when he was with Rinoa, but he wanted to ask them if they had heard anything new.

He walked toward them, Selphie looked in his direction. "Look." She said, she walked toward Squall then stopped and bent down to pick up a gil off the floor. "I wonder where Rinoa is." She looked up at the sky.

"I wish I knew." Squall said.

Selphie turned to look at Irvine. "I wish I knew." He said. "Poor Squall is sure takin' it hard."

"Don't talk about me like if I'm not—" Squall stopped himself, was he dreaming again?

Irvine and Selphie continued to talk without taking notice of Squall. "I'm really worried about him." Selphie said, Squall walked around her. "And of course I'm worried about Rinoa too, what if something bad happened to her?"

Squall walked around Irvine, he stopped when he noticed a little red light on Irvine's back; he instantly knew what it was. He looked above the stage and saw a figure clad in white holding a sniper rifle, pointing it at Irvine.

"Don't worry Selphie, I'm sure we'll find Rinoa soon." Irvine said calmly.

"Irvine!" Squall yelled, but it was no use, Irvine couldn't hear him. Squall looked up and saw the man squeeze the trigger.

Irvine fell to the ground, Selphie screamed in horror; she kneeled beside him. "Help!" She yelled, a large pool of blood began to form under Irvine. Tears were running down Selphie's face, she looked down and saw a small red light on her chest. "No." She said quietly realizing what it was. The bullet struck her in the heart, she fell backward, her sweater went from white to crimson in a matter of seconds.

Once again all Squall could do was watch. "Ironic, isn't it?" He was startled by a voice, he turned around to see the man in white standing by him. "The sniper got sniped." With that he made his way toward the exit. 

Squall looked at his friends' lifeless bodies once more, he had to close his eyes. So helpless...he felt so helpless, he had witnessed his friends get murdered and had been unable to do anything.

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Squall was awakened by a knock on his door. He was relieved to wake up, he looked at his watch, it was almost three a.m. He opened the door and found Quistis standing at the other side.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." Quistis said.

"Don't worry about it, anything new?"

"No." Quistis lowered her head. "I was going to ask Irvine to take charge of the group while Zell and I rest, but I can't find him or Selphie anywhere."

Squall's mouth suddenly went dry.

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So what'd ya think? Please review. Thanx.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: I don't own FF8 or its characters; they all belong to the lucky punks at Squaresoft.

Thank you so much to all who have taken the time to review, it really means a lot to me. Anyway, read and enjoy!

Wake Up to the Nightmare

(Chapter 3)

"I've looked for them all over Garden." Quistis said.

Squall put his hands on Quistis' shoulders. "Did you look in the Quad?" Horrid memories from his dream came flooding back.

"Yes." Quistis looked into his eyes. "I was just there. Is something wrong?" She asked concerned.

"...I don't know. I'm going to look for them." Squall said rushing out.

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Two hours later the search for Rinoa, as well as Selphie and Irvine continued. At a quarter after five that same morning, Xu and Nida took charge of Quistis and Zell's group so they could go and get some rest. Squall stayed on with the group he was leading. Predictably, by seven o'clock Squall had been overcome by hunger. 

He decided to leave the search up to one of the more capable SeeDs for a short while. He made his way back to Garden; on his way to his dorm he saw Zell walking out of the cafeteria, he was holding a brown paper bag. 

"Any news Squall?" Zell asked.

"No."

"Here." Zell handed him the bag. "Quistis asked me to give this. It's some breakfast, she thought that you wouldn't want to come in and eat."

"Thanks." He took the bag. "Where is she?" 

"She went to sleep for a little while." Zell looked at his friend with concern. " You know, you should do the same."

"What are you, my damn mom?!" Squall snapped.

Zell was about to talk back but decided against it. _He's just stressed_, he told himself, _he didn't really mean that_. He took a deep breath. "Look man, I just mean you're tired. You should eat your breakfast then get some sleep."

Squall's eyes narrowed, he shook his head at Zell. "It's amazing how in a time like this all you can think about is eating and sleeping."

This was too much for Zell's short temper to handle. "Look Squall, don't give me any of your victim shit!" Squall rolled his eyes at him. "They are _my_ friends too and I'm just as worried about them as you are! Just because I don't wear my _tortured little boy _face it doesn't mean that I don't care! And excuse _me_ for getting one _whole_ hour of sleep!" 

Squall said nothing.

Zell took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I'm going to the Training Center. I need to hit something." With that he walked off.

Squall felt awful for having snapped at Zell, he knew that he was right. He sighed then made his way to his dorm. 

After eating his breakfast Squall took a quick shower then tried to sleep, but was unable to do so. He decided to get up and go apologize to Zell.

***********************************

Zell was in the Training Center practicing his martial arts. He stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. "If that's you Squall," Zell said without turning, "you better not have come to bitch at me again."

No answer.

Zell turned around, he saw a tall man dressed in white approaching him. "Do you need something?" Zell asked. The stranger did not answer, but continued to walk toward him. "What the hell?!" Zell exclaimed when he saw that the man had no irises. 

He suddenly jumped at Zell, he tried to knock him to the ground, but Zell moved out of the way. The stranger then tried to kick him, but Zell blocked.

Just then Squall walked into the Training Center, his heart sank when he saw Zell fighting the man in white. Another dream.

Zell blocked every blow and struck a few of his own, he had no idea who the stranger was, all he knew was that he was definitely trying to kill him. 

The man realized that if he was going to kill Zell that was not the most effective way to do it. He disappeared.

Zell looked around but couldn't see him anywhere. For one hopeful moment Squall thought that he had left, but then he saw him reappear behind Zell. Squall knew there was nothing he could do to help him.

Sensing someone behind him, Zell turned around just in time to see a knife charging at him; he blocked it. What he failed to see was that the man was holding a short sword in his left hand; he sank it deep inside Zell's abdomen.

He pulled out the sword, Zell fell to his knees; he looked up and into his attacker's empty gaze. Squall saw the light slowly fade from his friend's blue eyes. Zell fell face down.

The stranger walked toward Squall and smiled that sickening smile again. "Four down." Was all he said before walking away.

"Hyne." Squall closed his eyes. "Please let me wake up." He begged.

He opened his eyes and found himself in his dorm. He sat up and picked up the phone on his bedside table; he dialed Quistis' number. "Please call off the search Quistis."

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Please review! Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Final Fantasy VIII and its characters belong to Squaresoft.

Hola! Chapter four is finally done! It took a lot longer than I expected because of finals and work and the site being down and...whatever, I'm rambling. Please R/R. 

Wake Up to the Nightmare

Chapter 4

"Please call off the search Quistis." Squall said, his voice weary. "Just do it. Come to my dorm and I'll explain." He hung up the phone.

A few minutes later an agitated Quistis entered Squall's dorm. "Are you giving up that easily?!" She slammed the door behind her.

"No." Squall answered.

"Zell is not going to be happy about this!"

"...Zell is gone." Squall fixed his gaze on the floor.

"W-what do you mean...gone?" Quistis was suddenly struck by an all too familiar feeling of dread.

"Sit down." Squall motioned to a couch on the far wall. "I need to tell you what's been happening to me...to everyone."

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"Now you see why I had you call off the search? It's pointless." Squall lowered his head.

Quistis said nothing for a few moments, what could she say? It was all so...surreal. How could her friends be disappearing every time Squall went to sleep? It made no sense whatsoever. Yet, how else could she explain the fact that they had all disappeared without a trace? Squall had to be telling the truth. "...There has to be something we can do." She finally said.

"Something we can do." Squall scoffed. "And what would that be?"

"Maybe some research, we could go to the library right now." She offered.

"What good will that do?!" Squall snapped, he had not meant to do so, but frustration was getting to him.

"I don't know!" Quistis stood up from the couch. "But it's better than sitting around hoping for things to magically get back to normal."

Squall knew that she was right, anything was better than sitting around waiting for sleep to win him over once more. "Fine. Let's go."

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Zell opened his eyes, he sat up and touched his abdomen; no wound.

"Are you all right?" Rinoa asked kneeling beside him, Selphie and Irvine were standing behind her concerned looks on their faces.

"What the hell?!" Zell jumped up and started looking wildly around. "First the dude in white came and I thought I was dead and we couldn't find you guys and—where the hell are we." He noticed that they were in a small white room, about the size of their dorms.

"We don't know." Rinoa said calmly. "We all thought that we died and went to Heaven or something, but we're just trapped here.

"Man..." Zell shook his head. "It was so damn real. That really hurt, I've never been stabbed before."

"It was super-duper-mega-scary." Selphie said. "I think somehow it _was_ real."

"Squall and Quistis must be goin' nuts trying to find us." Irvine said.

"Is that a door behind you?" Zell asked Selphie.

"Yeah, but it won't do any good, there's no knob."

"I don't need a knob to open a door." Zell walked toward the plain white door at the other side of the room.

"You can't break it down Zell," Irvine said, "we already tried."

"You have a better idea?"

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Darkness had fallen in Balam Garden once again. Quistis and Squall had spent the entire day searching through books about dreams and out of body experiences. They even looked for resources on mythical assassins. Once they were thorough with the books they used the internet, but they found that it was even less help than the books.

They were both extremely tired and were struggling to stay awake. 

"Squall, we're not getting anywhere. Why don't we get some rest and then think of something else to do?"

"You go ahead." Squall opened a book that he had looked at at least twice before.

"But you've slept even less than I have. You need to rest."

"Quistis," Squall closed the book and set in on the table that was in front of them. "you know what will happen if I sleep." He stepped away from the table and sat on a nearby chair.

"So you're never going to sleep." Quistis shook her head. "I don't see how that's going to happen."

"Please Quistis, I really don't need this."

Quistis laid her head on the table and sighed. "...I'm sorry Squall." She yawned. "It's just that I'm so tired..."

"...Quistis?" Squall asked after a few seconds. She did not answer. Her silence told him that she had fallen asleep, he wished he could do the same.

He heard someone enter the library, he stood up, he felt his arms grow heavy when he saw the man in white. He had fallen asleep again.

The man approached Quistis quietly, he stood behind her; suddenly he pulled the chair from under her causing her to fall to the floor. The stranger quickly leapt on top of her and placed his gloved hands around her throat, Quistis struggled, but it was no use. He squeezed tighter and tighter, all the while Squall could do nothing but watch as his friend's movement lessened.

He couldn't watch anymore, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again the man was gone; Quistis lay motionless on the floor. Hyne, when is this going to end? Squall thought before waking up.

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That's all I have for now, it won't be so long with the next chapter. Thanks for reading. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** FF8 and its characters belong to Squaresoft.

Wake Up to the Nightmare

(Chapter 5)

Squall opened his eyes and looked around, just as he expected Quistis was gone. He felt his hands begin to shake, Rinoa was gone and so were all his friends. Why was this happening to him? Why had he not been able to protect them?

He felt scared, what was he going to do without them? Without Rinoa? He was alone again, just like when he was a child at the orphanage, just like in time compression. He had not expected this to happen to him again, not now that his life was beginning to change.

What would happen if he never found them? What if they truly were dead? He held his head with his hands, he wanted to cry; they were dead, he just knew it. He let his hands fall to his sides; a horrifying thought suddenly struck him, was he next? Would he also die if he fell asleep?

Death. Final destination. There would be no coming back, ever. He'd be nothing but a memory; then as time went by he would be forgotten, he would be nothing: he would be dead. Dead. But without his friends, without Rinoa perhaps _life_ was to be feared; not death.

He eyed the couch in the back of the library. Perhaps the thought was not so horrifying after all. Yes, he was afraid of dying, but if _they_ weren't really dead and he went wherever it was that they were taken to then there was still a chance that he would find them. _If_ they weren't dead; there were no guarantees. Still, he had to take the risk. He lay down on the couch and closed his tired eyes.

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When Quistis woke up she found herself in the white room with the others. Everyone shared his or her experience while Zell continued to try to break down the door.

"Zell, you're never gonna be able to break it down!" Irvine was becoming irritated at Zell's futile efforts.

Zell was tired of kicking and punching the door, he knew that Irvine was right. He decided to give it one last kick; to everyone's surprise the door fell to the other side.

"Wha—" Zell said when the saw the door fall, he followed it with his eyes until it hit the ground.

"What?" Selphie asked as she ran to the door. Quistis, Rinoa and Irvine followed behind her. They reached the door and looked outside; what they saw they never expected.

Quistis uttered a surprised cry. "We're..."

"Floating." Rinoa finished.

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Squall woke to the sound of a voice calling his name. A blond female SeeD stood before him.

"I'm sorry to wake you Commander, I brought you some coffee, I thought you could use it." She handed him a cup.

"Thank you." Squall said taking the cup. Why had nothing happened when he fell asleep?

"I thought Instructor Trepe was here," the girl said, "I brought her a cup too."

"...Quistis is gone." Squall looked up at the SeeD. He couldn't remember seeing her before, but then again, he seldom remembered faces. The girl looked him in the eye, a smile began to form on her lips. 

The room began to feel 'stuffy'; Squall had the urge to run outside for a breath of fresh air. He felt as if the oxygen were being sucked out of the room, he attempted to take a deep breath, but found that there was not enough air. He dropped his coffee cup causing it to shatter into tiny pieces; he stood up, it was so very difficult to breathe. He felt his eyes begin to loose focus, he looked at the girl; she stood in front of him, smiling.

"You...poisoned...me..." Squall managed to say. He fell to his knees, and closed his eyes for a moment, when he opened them again the girl was gone. In her place stood the stranger in white, his sightless eyes staring at him. Squall opened his mouth to speak, but found that he could not. All he could do was stay on his knees and try to breathe. 

He never thought it would end that way, he always envisioned himself dying in the battlefield, fighting a valiant battle. This was nothing of the sort. _What a pitiful way for a SeeD to die_, were the last words in Squall's thoughts before everything went black.

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Please don't forget to review. ^_^ Thank you in advance.   


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: **FF8 and all its characters belong to Squarsoft.

Wake Up to the Nightmare

(Chapter 6)

Squall found it difficult to open his eyes, the bright light in the small white room made them sting. He ignored the discomfort upon hearing familiar voices; he quickly sat up. He felt somewhat disoriented, he didn't see anyone in front of him; he suddenly realized that the voices were coming from behind him. As he turned around he couldn't help feeling relieved, and more than a little surprised to see all his friends. He felt so overwhelmed by his emotions that he just sat there, watching them, smiling. He quickly realized what he was doing and completely changed his demeanor, Hyne forbid anyone saw him expressing emotions. 

All five of his friends were seemingly preoccupied with an open door, Selphie turned around, a confused look on her face. "Oh, no." She said her expression changing to one of disappointment. "You guys, Squall is here."

They all turned at once. "Oh man!" Zell took on the same look of disappointment that Selphie had. 

Not quite the welcome Squall had expected. Rinoa ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "They don't mean it like that." She said kissing him on the cheek.

"What they meant," Quistis gave Selphie and Zell a stern look, "is that we were hoping that you would find a way to get us out of here."

"Hey guys!" Irvine called. "Come look at this!"

They all rushed to the door. Squall was shocked to she that they were floating high above the ground. The small room seemed to be slowly descending.

"Whoo-hoo!" Selphie exclaimed. "We're going down."

"Why?" Rinoa wondered.

"Man, who cares?" Zell waved his hand dismissively. "The point is we're going down."

"There has to be a reason." Irvine said.

"What do you think, Quis?" Rinoa asked. Silence. "Quistis?" Rinoa turned around at the lack of response. Quistis did not seem to bee listening her gaze was fixed on the figure standing behind Squall. Rinoa uttered a small gasp at the sight before her causing everyone to turn.

All eyes went wide as they saw the stranger in white standing before them. "How goes your day children?" He asked mockingly. "Don't look so surprised, we were bound to meet again sooner or later." He smiled that sickening smile that Squall had grown to despise. "It is a pleasure to see you all here...especially you..." He turned toward Squall. "Mr. Leonheart."

"You sick freak!" Selphie yelled. "What do you want from us?!"

"I already have what I want from you..." He said lazily.

"Who the hell are you?!" Zell demanded.

There was absolute silence as they waited his response. "...I am Faerod."

"That doesn't tell us much." Irvine said.

"Very well..." Faerod continued. "I am a demon, banished from the deepest pits of Hell. I have been cursed to forever roam the World of the Living...feeding on fear."

Silence.

"You are not even going to comment? You'd think this is something you heard everyday." Faerod laughed, everyone looked at him in shock and disbelief. "As I was saying;" He continued, "I roam the Living World in search of fear, when I passed by Balam Garden I tasted it...sweet wonderful fear." He took one step toward Squall, he did not move back. "To me, most fears are like...junk food to you people; fears of heights, snakes, the dark...but what I found, oh, it was a feast, a wonderful feast!" 

Rinoa felt a strange sensation inside her head, what she felt not even _she_ could explain. She had the urge to run to the door, _but...why? She wondered. Next to Selphie she was closest to the door, when she turned her head she could see that the room continued to descend. She suddenly noticed how defiantly Squall looked into Faerod's white eyes. "You're wasting your time, you won't be having any feast because we're not afraid of you, because __I'm not afraid of you." _

Rinoa turned her head toward the door once more as Squall spoke, was it her imagination or were they going down a little faster?

"You're not afraid?" Faerod laughed. "I can see inside your mind. I _know that you are afraid."_

"You can't see inside my mind." Squall stated simply. "If you could then you'd see that I'm not afraid of you."

_Could that be the answer? Rinoa wondered as she looked again toward the door and on to the world outside._

"You do not fear for yourself?" Faerod asked. Squall said nothing merely stared blankly at him. "Then...are you afraid for your friends?"

Very softly the room stopped, no one felt the change. Rinoa took a step back and looked through the door. _It was close enough! She looked at Selphie who as too enthralled with the scene before her to notice. _

"What if something were to happen to one of your dear friends? Or two? Or five?" Faerod took another step toward Squall this time Squall took a step back.

Rinoa looked at Squall and then at the door, her heart sank when she realized that the room was beginning to rise once again. "Jump you guys!" She suddenly yelled startling everyone. "This is our only chance!"

Without giving it a second thought Selphie jumped through the door, she was immediately followed by Irvine and Zell.

Quistis paused before jumping. "Hurry up you two!" She yelled before following in her friends' actions.

"Come on Squall! We still have time!" Rinoa yelled from the door.

"What if I were to do something to her?!" Faerod sent forward a blast of wing causing Rinoa to lose her footing and fall through the door.

"No!" Squall yelled running toward the door, it slammed in his face just when he was about to reach it. "Rinoa!" He kicked and pulled at the door with all his might, but to no avail. "Rinoa..." He fell to his knees.

"See what you did? Bad boy." Faerod walked toward Squall. "Your friends are gone. Your girlfriend is dead...How do you feel now, Squally boy?" He kneeled by Squall. "You're afraid now aren't you? You feel scared, what are you going to do without them? Without Rinoa? You are alone again, just like when you were a child at the orphanage, just like in time compression."

Those had been Squall's exact words, how had he known...

"I can taste your fear. You will keep me alive for a long while. You on the other hand...well let's just say you'll be joining your girlfriend soon." 

With that he stood up, as he did so the lights went out, leaving Squall alone, in the dark, alone with his fears. He could do nothing but sleep, sleep and pray that he didn't dream. 

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Sorry it took me so long to update, but college is really hard, and if you mix a full time job with it, well...Anyway, I'll try to update sooner next time. Please don't forget to review. Thank you ^_^


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